


Resonance

by mylittlecthulhu (marineko)



Series: Red Shift [12]
Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 02:51:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15451743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marineko/pseuds/mylittlecthulhu
Summary: Resonance: A state in which an orbiting object is subject to periodic gravitational perturbations by another.  // In which being in love with a pop idol sucked.





	Resonance

Being in love with a pop idol sucked. Being in love with a pop idol when your first single debuted well in the mainstream charts and your own career is starting to go smoothly was even worse. Even if they were in the same city, which they weren’t, there was no way that Aiba would be able to meet up with Sho, because both of them had ridiculously busy schedules that month. After the first Red Shift single was done, they had had to put off recording because of Sho’s schedule, and the band was put to promotional work in the meantime - adding more lives to their schedule, performing in tv shows, and going for radio and magazine interviews.

Aiba missed Sho, and the fact that it was Valentines day didn’t help at all. 

“Why do we have to do this?” he groaned, pushing Jun aside. He, Nino and Jun were sitting in the backseat of the car together, and Jun was taking up too much space. 

“Quit whining,” Nino said on his other side. “It’s not like you could see Sho anyway, since he’s not in town right now.”

“Aww, Aiba misses his Sho...” Jun teased. He leaned over to Aiba, causing the other man to scoot closer to the already cramped Nino, and said, “you could cry on my shoulder anytime.”

“As if he would! Idiot,” Nino snapped, reaching over Aiba to push Jun. “Sit on your side of the car, damn it. I barely have room to breathe here.”

Jun caught hold of Nino’s arm with one hand, and reached out to poke Nino with another. “What if I don’t wanna?” 

Nino pulled his arm away and retaliated, as Aiba asked the driver, ducking underneath both Nino’s and Jun’s arms, “how long until we reach the radio station?”

“Will you kids please sit quietly?” Ohno called out from the front seat, exasperated. “I’m getting a headache just listening to you guys.”

“You’re just jealous ‘cause you’re in front and can’t join in the fun,” Jun said, but he and Nino both straightened up and stopped poking at each other.

“Yeah,” Nino said, suddenly in league with Jun. “Are you lonely in front, Ohno? Do you wish you’re sitting here with us? You don’t have to be shy about it, you know...”

“Shut up. Just shut up and let me nap, while I still have time,” Ohno muttered. Jun and Nino had dragged him out to go drinking last night, and they had stayed out really late. He wondered why the other two didn’t seem sleepy or hungover at all. Aiba had somehow managed to escape their clutches and spent most of the night on the phone with Sho instead, which made him cranky from lack of sleep in the morning.

})i({

They arrived at the station with time to spare, and had to wait in the conference room, which was really just a small room with a large table and uncomfortable chairs, no doubt designed so that no one could fall asleep in them.

Jun was flirting with the girl who brought them refreshments, while Ohno was looking over the questions list, frowning. Nino had already taken out his DS and was lost in his own world. Aiba kept checking his phone, but ended up putting it away with a disappointed look. Sho hadn’t even wished him a happy Valentines’ day. He sighed, and Nino looked up at him. Aiba smiled and shook his head, and Nino turned back to his DS with a frown matching Ohno’s.

When his phone beeped, indicating that he received a new mail, Aiba immediately opened it with a hopeful expression. As he read the short message, though, his expression turned confused and disappointed.

“What is it?” Nino asked, eyes still trained to his game.

Aiba said nothing, and handed his phone to Nino. Pausing his game, Nino took a look at the mail.

> It’s radio for today, huh?  
>  Do your best!  
>  P/S: Call me Inoue.

“I don’t get it,” Nino said, handing the phone back to Aiba.

“It’s from Sho-chan,” Aiba explained.

Nino thought for a moment, and finally said, “I still don’t get it.”

“I think he’s wishing me luck.”

“I got that part, duh. It’s the postscript that I don’t get.”

“Me neither,” Aiba admitted. The name bothered him a little. He thought the name was familiar somehow, but he didn’t know why. And why didn’t Sho wish him a happy Valentine’s day? _Did he forget?_ he wondered. It wouldn’t be surprising, he supposed, since Sho have forgotten things like that before. _Maybe I should just wish him first._ As he was contemplating the idea, their manager came in to tell them that it was time for their interview.

})i({

“...your first album, including the single that was just released, was done with Sakurai Sho from the same company, right?” the DJ asked. “Is it true that Red Shift had ties with Sakurai-san from the past?”

“Well,” Ohno replied, “our guitarist, Nino, used to go to school with Sho-kun, but we were really surprised about it at first, too.”

“That’s right,” Nino said, chuckling. “I never really expected to see him again, despite being in the same company, because our style of music are really different, right? And then when we decided on our first album being a collaboration, he came up. It was a big surprise!”

“It went pretty well, though, didn’t it?” Jun reflected. “I think the collaboration opened both parties up to a different kind of fanbase. At first I thought, can this guy really do rock music? But in the end he impressed me a lot.”

“Speaking of your fans, let’s take in a caller right now... we have Onoe-san from Yokosuka. Onoe-san, good afternoon!”

“Good afternoon,” a nervous female voice answered. 

“You’re live with Red Shift right now. Onoe-san, are you a Red Shift fan?”

“Yes! My friend introduced them to me and I bought the first single right away.”

“Do you have a favourite member?”

“Yes... I like Matsumoto-kun,” she replied shyly.

Jun grinned. “Thank you, Onoe-san. Please continue supporting us! Do you have a song request for today?”

Jun continued to converse with the fan for a bit, before the DJ played her song request. When the song was playing, Jun looked at Aiba. “You should speak up more,” he said. “You barely spoke during the interview part.”

“Sorry,” Aiba muttered. “Guess I’ve been kind of out of it.”

When it was time to take in the next caller, Aiba tried to be more energetic. “So... who is our next caller, I wonder?”

“It’s Inoue-san from Nagasaki... he said he’s been a fan of Red Shift since your self-released demo. That’s amazing, isn’t it? Inoue-san, how did you get a hold of Red Shift’s demo?”

_Inoue..._ Aiba thought, wondering if it was a coincidence. However, when the voice of the caller came through, he realised that it wasn’t. It was definitely, unmistakably Sho’s voice on the line.

“Well... I have a friend who likes to keep track of indie bands from all over the country, and he mailed me a copy of the demo because he knew I’d like it,” Sho said. “Of course, I got my own copy of the debut single when it came out.”

Jun was trying to hold in his laughter, realising what was going on, while Nino looked like he didn’t know whether to be mad or not that Sho was pulling such a stunt when they were supposed to be working. Ohno looked at Aiba, who was still staring at the source of the voice in surprise, and decided to jump in.

“We’re really happy to hear that, Inoue-san,” Ohno said. “Do you have a song request?”

“Yes, I’d like to dedicate a song for my girlfriend,” Sho answered. Jun almost let out a small laugh at the word _girlfriend_ , and covered his mouth with his hands. Nino sighed, and rolled his eyes in exasperation as Aiba started to blush. “It’s Valentines, but because of certain reasons we can’t spend it together, so I hope that this song will reach her somehow.”

“That’s really nice of you, Inoue-san,” Ohno said. “Don’t you think, Aiba?”

Aiba choked. “Yes,” he finally managed. “She’s a lucky girl.”

“No, I’m really sorry that we can’t spend today together, so this is the best I can do,” Sho answered, sounding regretful.

Realising that the mood in the room was turning serious, and not knowing why, the DJ decided to cut things short. “I’m afraid that we don’t have much time, so we’ll play your song now. Thank you for calling, Inoue-san.”

The song was in English, so Aiba had to listen closely to get the lyrics. He didn’t understand all of it, but he understood enough - it was a wistful sort of love song, the sort one might sing when apart from and missing the people they loved, but wishing the best for them anyway. 

The words resonating in his mind, Aiba slowly smiled even as he started to tear up a little. When his band members nodded at him understandingly and looked pointedly at the door, he excused himself for a moment and walked out of the studio. Checking his phone again, he saw that there was a new message from Sho.

> You didn’t talk much on the show.  
>  I’ll try to fly back tonight no matter what, so wait for me?  
>  Inoue

Aiba laughed softly as he typed out a reply.

> Nino’s really mad at you for disturbing us at work.  
>  But I’m glad you did it.  
>  I’ve missed you, too.


End file.
